2nd Symposium on the Economics of Ignorance

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2^nd Symposium on the Economics of Ignorance

November 30th

Information Brings Hope

See Topics & Speakers

Why a Symposium on Ignorance?

The focus of the Symposium is on policies and practices that are affecting our ability to innovate and promote critical thinking.  The goal is to better equip you to get your employers or clients to understand how they should be leveraging you, their training, education, and credentialing assets as part of their strategic reactions to macro-level trends including skill shortages, climate change, poverty, education, inclusion, and healthcare.      

The Symposium is in two parts.  Part 1 is designed for attendees in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.  Part 2 is designed for attendees in North America.  When you register you can attend one or both parts in person or elect to get videos of the presentations.  

Topics & Speakers

Part 1:  Start at 03H00am Eastern

• Greetings & Welcome - Matthew Richter
• Lessons from Machiavelli's The Prince - Judith Hale
• Why critical thinking and evidence-based learning is essential - Nigel Paine
• Africa’s current state – the required alignment - Lucy Newman
• Optimizing the burgeoning youth population to grow entrepreneurs - Titi Ojo
• Doing the Right Thing v Doing Things Right - Steven Kelly
• Ignorance in Healthcare - Dorothy Leab 
• Are You Sure About Your Definition of Strategic - Mari Novak
• We Are Somebody - Judith Hale
• Summation & Recap - Matthew Richter

Break 07H30 to 12H00 (noon) Eastern 

Part 2:  Start at 12H00pm Noon Eastern

• Greetings - Matthew Richter
• The Dismantling of the Free Press - Judith Hale
• Historic Roots to 21st Century Racism - Mary Kay Wagner
• The Erosion of Critical Thinking - Rob Foshay

• Undoing Institutional Helplessness - Janet Annan
• China's Emerging Social Model - Frank Fu

• A Beacon of Hope: Guiding Our Children Past Trauma - Nancy Burns
• Economic Benefits of Innovation - Veronika Shestakova
• We Are Somebody Collaboration: Hope for the future - Judith Hale
• Summation & Recap - Matthew Richter

Click here for speaker bios.

Our position is that failure to act constitutes not just a missed opportunity but an act of willful ignorance (denial) about what it takes to get our constituents ready to embrace and respond effectively to the macro trends.  We see willful ignorance as often the line of least resistance, which ultimately allows each of the macro trends to turn into existential threats. How can we impact these problems?  Too often we avoid the conversation because of the political implications.  This made sense in the past, but no longer.  Ignoring ignorance is just feeding many of these continuing world-wide issues. 

We are on the from-lines. We have the greatest opportunity beyond our schools to have a positive effect on how people think and consider the world around them. We also have a responsibility to foster good critical thinking skills and evidence-based practices.  

This Symposium explores how better rigor in thinking and more accountability among us can change the world for the better.  Each speaker explores a specific global challenge and how we can think about that problem from a multi-disciplinary and critical perspective.  We then will engage in how we can apply what the speaker shared practically to each of your own worlds.

Who is this Symposium for?

You, if you want to shape the conversation.  Events over the past two years magnified our global interdependence, the power and threat of technology, the pervasiveness of institutionalized ignorance, and the clout of social media.  We are witnessing a war on science and critical thinking.  Talking about Post-Covid is still a long way off and growth at any cost can no longer be the goal.  We must help others comprehend the social, environmental, and economic forces that are shaping the global marketplace.  But it begins with us, otherwise we will be left out of the conversation.  

Why parts?

The Symposium occurs over a 18 hour period, but it is in parts to better enable participation by a global audience.  The whole program is virtual and live.  It is also recorded.  Recordings will be made available to attendees.  All parts will have speakers addressing this year's themes; however, the specific content and speakers will be different.